Georgia Judge Accused of Pulling a Gun in Court

Judge's got a gun

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Superior Court Judge David Barrett told the witness that she might as well shoot her lawyer because she was “killing her case."

Updated at 6:17 AM PDT on Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012

A North Georgia judge is being investigated after pulling out a handgun in court to prove a point while a witness was testifying in a rape case,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Superior Court Judge David Barrett told the witness that she might as well shoot her lawyer because she was “killing her case.” He pretended to offer her his handgun before prosecutor Jeff Langley told the judge the move was inappropriate and asked him to put away the weapon.

“When it happened, I objected and sought to take control of the situation and terminate that conduct immediately,” Langley told the Atlanta paper.

The female victim, who had accused a Sheriff’s deputy of rape and aggravated assault with a handgun, was not being cooperative during the latter part of her testimony, Langley said.

That's when the judge pulled out his pistol.

The woman's lawyer, Andrea Conarro, called the moment “one of those slow motion kind of events.”

“Later, as it sunk in, I was upset, and I felt like a tragedy had been created,” she said.

Under Georgia law, judges are permitted to carry concealed weapons in a courtroom but they are not allowed to point a gun at another person without just cause.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission has launched a probe into the incident but Judge Barrett has not faced any criminal charges, according to Langley.